Lovely London

It has been a whirlwind two days.

Sunday night I was fortunate to get  lift from Heathrow into London with a friend of the other Kiwi journo on the media trip. An Aussie lawyer who has lived in London for 30 years, my transport angel had a lovely new Merc and it was so much more civilised than crowding onto the Tube with almost every other human being in this city.

Our luck got even better when the hotel the accommodation the PR put us into, the Egerton House Hotel, upgraded us to one of their two suites. It featured two bathrooms and two sitting rooms, each of which was bigger than the average London flat. Did I mention it was five star? The Animator was beside himself with joy.

The rest of the time has been filled with shopping, eating and drinking, including a calorific afternoon tea at the Egerton which was followed by its famous martini masterclass for a story. I now know the difference between shaken, stirred and dirty martinis (and have the hangover to prove it). The Animator took some amazing snaps which I shall share once he converts them from raw files.

The hotel also threw us a couple of tix to the ever wonderful V&A - I last crossed the threshold to this venerable old museum  years ago for a swanky black-tie function. Today, I didn't spend nearly enough time checking out the wedding dress exhibition, which featured frothy confections from 1775 to the current day, while the Animator revelled in the Constable exhibition.

A highlight of our fleeting stay has been catching up with a couple of the Animator's previous colleagues and my lovely, lovely mate Kurt who I worked with at the BBC about the same time the unicorns were refusing to get on the ark. I missed Kurt when I was here in June, so it was all manner of lovely to catch up.

This morning there was an interview with an amazing Kiwi chef, one half of a leading celebrity foodie couple, and an interesting encounter with a drugged-out wide-boy in an alleyway near her Shoreditch restaurant (which I must incorporate in the story).

Tomorrow we schlep out to Heathrow and hours and hours of flying. Goodbye London, as always, it's been fun...

Apologies for the lack of photos; there has been a slight incident with a leaking water bottle and my handbag; suffice to say I am more than ready for a new iPhone.

   

Enroute to London

We are currently camped out at Schipol Airport, waiting for our flight to the seven circles of hell that is Heathrow.

It was a wrench to leave the SS Antoinette in Basel, Switzerland this morning. I had wondered how long I could remain undetected if I hid in the shower.

I am now 33% food, 33% alcohol and 33% lard. Operation Get Rid of Fat Arse begins as soon as I get home.

Today's visuals are of yesterday's trip to the cutest wee French town, Colmar. I am missing Continental Europe already.

Vive la France

Another day, another country.

Today it was the turn of Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region in eastern France and the official seat of the European Parliament. It's also just across the border from Germany and has changed its stripes from German to French so many times, it's surprising it isn't a complete schizophrenic mess.

There was a canal ride along the waterways of this ancient city, a visit to the astounding Notre Dame Cathedral and a wander around cobbled streets that have played host to human beings for centuries and centuries.

Warning again for excess images; but the places we have visited on this media trip are just too, too beautiful to restrict myself to one or two photos. Also a couple of you have emailed to say that all the images aren't loading - I apologise and can only blame the less than ideal internet connection on the ship. But I promise to sort it once I get back onto dry land.

   

Rudesheim

I can't seem to convince the laptop we are in Europe and therefore 12 hours behind NZ; so I am actually posting this on Thursday evening.

And, just to confuse matters further, I am posting yesterday's images, which are of the charming wine-making town of Rudesheim, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. The Rhine Valley well and truly has its winter coat on and we braved chilly temperatures to catch the gondola up the hill for breath-taking views across the valley.

Sadly, we were too early for the Christmas Markets, which were just being set up, but we did manage to scoff a special Rudesheim coffee (pics below), a frothy confection of sugar cubes and brandy, which are set alight, before strong coffee enters the equation. The whole calorific carnival is topped off with a hunk of cream and chocolate sprinkles.

Despite being a good little camper and visiting the ship's gym each day, the waistband on my jeans feels tight. I must remember to write a letter of complaint to the manufacturer when I get home.

Cruising on the Rhine

I am a day behind. Slow internet on the river, plus too many things to see and do on this fabulous floating hotel, does not an up-to-date blog make.

Pictures of our first port, Cologne, will have to wait as they are still on the Animator's camera. In the meantime, here are visuals of yesterday's stops in the Middle Rhine, including Koblenz, a 2000-year-old city which squats at the meeting place of two of Germany's major rivers - the Moselle and the Rhine. Despite around 85 percent of the city being bombed in WWII, it was all manner of chocolate box pretty.

Later, we pulled into Boppard, another stupidly beautiful town where, despite a sky that was determined to spit on us, we walked ancient cobbled streets, checked out Roman ruins and wished our city was as beautiful as this.